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Wolfgang Puck recipe: Roasted Winter Squash Soup

By Wolfgang Puck

Posted:
01/09/2013 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
01/09/2013 10:06:13 AM CST

This is the best time of year for a warm bowl of soup. All those big holiday feasts are receding into the past, and we yearn for streamlined meals. Our New Year's resolutions about eating more healthful foods and getting fit make us want to focus on simpler ways to satisfy our hunger. And those dark, chilly January nights demand dishes that can warm us up from the inside.

Soup is a perfect solution. Make a robust soup and add a hearty side salad and some crusty bread, and dinner is ready.

Prepare that soup with the best produce available and you're eating with good health in mind. And a soup that's thick and velvety seems almost to glow with warmth, bringing you cozy comfort with every spoonful.

My recipe for Roasted Winter Squash Soup With Red Bell Pepper Swirl is a very satisfying example of what I mean.

Here, I've called for two of the most common kinds of hard-shelled winter, butternut and acorn, which combine to give the soup a more complex flavor and a rich golden-orange color. But you could substitute other good varieties, such as banana squash, Delicata, Hubbard or kabocha.

You might find some of the larger types being sold already cut up into skin-on chunks. But the two I call for usually need to be cut in half before roasting, a task that will require a sharp, sturdy knife; a slip-proof cutting board; and -- most important -- a great deal of care.

Those squashes, plus some broth and seasonings, make up the majority of the ingredients.

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Yes, there's also some butter and cream. But each serving contains only 1/2 tablespoon butter and 2 teaspoons cream, so the soup remains good and healthy. It's a good example of how a bit of richness can help deliver much satisfaction with every spoonful.

The final touch, a simple puree of roasted red bell pepper, makes each bowlful more beautiful and flavorful. If you like, substitute a scattering of toasted nuts or some dried cranberries or cherries.

Serve this soup with a loaf of hot whole-grain bread and a salad of winter greens -- perhaps hand-torn pieces of kale tossed with some toasted nuts, a few dried cranberries and a warm balsamic dressing -- and enjoy a wonderful winter meal.

To bake squash and peppers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butternut squash and acorn squash in half. Scoop out and discard seeds. In small microwave-proof bowl, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Brush over cut sides of each squash half. Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Arrange squash halves, cut side down, in roasting pan. Place peppers in separate small pan or baking dish. Put both pans in oven. Roast bell peppers for 30 minutes or until uniformly blackened and blistered. Remove from oven. Continue to roast squash for 30 minutes longer or until tender. Remove from oven. Let both pans rest at room temperature until peppers and squash are cool enough to handle.

To puree squash: Using large spoon, scoop flesh from squash halves into food processor fitted with stainless-steel blade. Pulse until pureed. Transfer to bowl. Set aside. (Note: Yield should be 4 cups.)

To saute vegetables: In medium soup pot, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add onion. Saute, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender but not browned. Reduce heat to very low.